TOKYO -- Employees at the Matsumoto Engei garden store in the suburban Tokyo city of Kokubunji are busy tending poinsettias and princettias in its greenhouses as shipments of the colorful plants are at their peak ahead of Christmas.

Although the shipments were delayed by about a week compared to the average year due to the plants' poor growth caused by the extremely hot summer, 13,000 pots of 18 varieties are scheduled to be shipped by mid-December. The plants in pots with a diameter of 15 centimeters are selling well, but smaller ones are also apparently popular especially among young people.

Yoshitaka Matsumoto, 76, head of the garden store, smiled and said, "We'll be happy if people enjoy Christmas with poinsettias and princettias."

(Japanese original by Mimi Niimiya, Photo Group)